Pack Gets Second Exhibition Win

06-07 Basketball General NCS Basketball53

Sidney Lowe’s second exhibition win was a more comfortable one, with the Pack winning 87-76. Obviously, the best news of the night was that Engin Atsur played (first half only). Gavin Grant was a one-man show again, and Ben McCauley had another solid game. Brandon Costner continued to rebound well despite being rusty offensively. Fells rebounded with a solid shooting night (and Fells must be solid for NC State to have a fighting chance this season). Overall, not too bad.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

06-07 Basketball General NCS Basketball

53 Responses to Pack Gets Second Exhibition Win

  1. packbackr04 11/08/2006 at 3:48 PM #

    TRUE DAT GUYS! GO WOLFPACK!
    the players and coaches on the floor for us this year are all wolfpackers to me… and they bleed that wolfpack red. shooting is right. F Davis and F werner, they are the kinda guys that would fu$k a person in the ars and not even have the god dam common courtesy to give the guy a reach around!

    sorry for all the full metal jacket analogys today. red recieved teh other one

  2. RickJ 11/08/2006 at 4:00 PM #

    This is a rare circumstance when Pack fans can really enjoy a year of basketball without undue pressure concerning the outcome of each game. I echo the above sentiments about supporting this particular team, coaches and set of players although this is a pretty good policy for every year and every sport at NC State.

    I noticed Maryland drew 7,148 for their home opener last night against Hampton. Putting up big attendance numbers and enthusiastically supporting the players would be the best way we can assist Lowe and the coaching staff.

  3. PackGirl 11/08/2006 at 4:10 PM #

    Just saw on Packpride that Hickson has signed up – so it’s official. They also report that Chris Warren is “SEC-bound”. Anybody know what else is going on in the recruiting front?

  4. packbackr04 11/08/2006 at 4:29 PM #

    Thats great PAckgirl!!! preciate the update. way to go Sid! and a special thank you to Hickson and Thomas… and we are holding out hope for Smith!

  5. packbackr04 11/08/2006 at 4:40 PM #

    and where are these mystery recruits… Shootingguard, you out there? we need some help. can you at least tell us if they are still looking at us or if they have decided to stick with their verbals?

  6. nycfan 11/08/2006 at 5:00 PM #

    Re: the Flex Offense, the scheme typically starts out with four players in an arc and the fifth a post player on the strong side box (the side the ball goes to). You can also run it with a double low post, with the weak side low post screening out to the corner on the pass to the strong side.

    The central rule of thumb is that if you pass, you immediately screen (either weak side or to post) and if there are two players on the weak side, the weak-side post player should also screen on the pass, creating a continuous series of players popping off screens, including the popular double low screen to the weak side corner with that player popping up high, one screener curling back into the lane and the other popping out where the original corner player was. Crisp passing and good shot selection are keys to making the offense hum, which provides more structure than a free lance offense but still gives the players a lot of room for creativity.

    Maryland ran the flex to near perfection when they won the National Championship.

  7. choppack1 11/08/2006 at 5:50 PM #

    excellent summary nyc – that’s the flex – you need good shooters and passers to play it.

  8. Great Dane Guy 11/08/2006 at 5:51 PM #

    Thanks, NYCFan. Thats exactly what I needed.

  9. redfred2 11/08/2006 at 5:51 PM #

    FRIDAY NIGHT- LEE FOWLER AND THE WHOLE ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT PRESENTS…the third basketball game of the year.

  10. bTHEredterror 11/08/2006 at 6:46 PM #

    Hey, NYC. Appreciate the synopsis. Another cool thing about the flex is can be adapted to different talent in a lot of ways. BC runs it tight in the lane to grind out low post and elbow looks. Doesn’t Duke run mostly Flex?

  11. Woof Wolf 11/08/2006 at 7:34 PM #

    Chris Warren signed with Ole Miss. Rico Pickett signed with Alabama.

  12. vtpackfan 11/08/2006 at 8:19 PM #

    Tracy Smith! Tracy Smith! The flex fits well since its what the pistons run for an offense and when its done right and guys make jumpers it can really put points up fast in the half court. Sid knows that a strong defense and points of turnovers are the keys to championship teams but you need a simple foundation spread on offense to stay in games over the long haul. Not that any of that will turn up in spades this season but the heart and determination coupled with the crowds enthusiasm will be enough for me to live on no matter the record.
    Nieman just another wing player? Can he do time w/Horner and Big Lew to give our big guys a rest?
    I’m started to get revved up for this season, where moving back to Cary in a matter of weeks and all I need is a job and Tracy Smith. Go Pack!

  13. redfred2 11/08/2006 at 8:26 PM #

    Did anyone even notice the symbolism in my earlier 1:44pm post?

    farm: university
    not maintained: by the previous caretakers of Fowler/Sendek
    crops: players that were supposed to be, but really weren’t
    bill collectors: impatient fans wanting instant compensation

    I work hard on my totally irrelevant BS, but it just goes floating by, totally unnoticed.

    Geez Louise

  14. Woof Wolf 11/08/2006 at 8:44 PM #

    I read it, understood it and didn’t think it needed commentary. What did you want, a standing ovation? YEA Fred, way to go! Good stuff!

  15. redfred2 11/08/2006 at 9:02 PM #

    Woof

    Thank you, thank you very much.

  16. chilly water 11/08/2006 at 9:17 PM #

    how much are tickets for the wofford game?

  17. WolfPup35 11/08/2006 at 9:18 PM #

    If the defense can pick up, we definitely have a shot at surprising the big boys of the league. The one thing that nobody talks about is the pride of the Wolfpack, it shows in the fans, the players, and especially the coach. Pride can be a MF, and it can sting a bit when it gets hit hard, but it can also take you a long long way. Pride can make the difference in hard D when it counts, when you’re getting spanked and trying to make a comeback, or when you have to hold a lead (Hello, think Herb knows about that?). Even though we’re small and young, watch out for this team!!

    BTW, the rest of the league?? The only sure things are that the Tarholes will be strong, and Dook is Dook. WF?? YOUNG! UVa?? We OWN them BC?? i don’t know FSU?? they play hoops?? Miami?? same question. UMd?? YOUNG!! in short, the rest of the league will be in the same boat as us for the most part, and we’ll have to wait and see.

  18. redfred2 11/08/2006 at 9:39 PM #

    Wolfpup35

    They will get spanked, and they will surprise. On what scale really doesn’t matter right now. It’s going to be fun watching as these kids and future ones, are given the opportunity to grow up right before our eyes, on the basketball court once again.

    And yes, pride is a MF.

  19. choppack1 11/08/2006 at 9:59 PM #

    bTHEREDTERROR – You’re exactly right. BC runs a flex that is almost ridiculously tight. They probably ran it better than anyone in the country last year anyhoo – it was amazing to watch them run it towards the end of the year. UT runs a flex too.

  20. xphoenix87 11/08/2006 at 10:45 PM #

    we tried to run a flex on my high school team last year, though the results weren’t all that pretty. I remember watching a BC game last year and thinking “wow, that’s our offense.” It was almost exactly the same offense, and BC runs it about as well as it can be run. It’s simple, but when you run it right it’s very hard to stop.

    Wolfpup – If you really think we’ve got a chance at competing in the ACC this year, you’re off your rocker. I’m as optimistic a fan as the next guy, but we’ll be battling Miami and WF for positioning in the bottom 3 spots. I have honestly never seen a league that is as deep as the ACC is this year. There are 9 teams in this league that have a legitimate chance to go to the NCAA tournament. BTW, we won’t be owning UVA this year, their backcourt is top 5 nationally, and FSU has this character named Al Thornton you might have heard about, who is actually the best post player in the league (Tyler who?). Yeah, I know you’re probably just overstating it for comedic effect, but the point stands that the rest of the league is nowhere near being in the same boat as we are. Sit back, enjoy watching the young guys develop, enjoy watching the ridiculous amount of talent that we get to see in the ACC, and get used to seeing us lose by a lot.

  21. vtpackfan 11/08/2006 at 10:47 PM #

    BC’s is tight indeed, look at the inside bruisers they have had recently and you see why. Dook plays one that is spread because they usually field a team with about 4 or 5 McD’s AA that competed in 3 point shoot out. It’s pretty simple, I think Bobby Knight may have been the “godfather” of the concept. It’s mostly pass the ball and move away to pick and free a man up to occupy the space you vacated. It doesn’t have alot of motion but enough so you can free the men up you really want the ball into the hand off.
    Can’t help thinking of ffotball threads read here recently that talked about playcalling vs. execution though. It’s like heredity vs. environment, and Sids’ inherited something that may need a little remedy or two. The offense may indeed allow GG and Fells to shine and maybe even begin to show some real promise in Costner and Ferg (even McAuley). We will all see the limitations of seven sholly players and know trademark PG when the real season begins, with or without a new offense.

  22. Gene 11/09/2006 at 7:05 AM #

    General observation on defense, from watching the game, on earlier comments: we play good defense in spurts, but don’t maintain the intensity for an entire game.

    Lowe talked about this in his post game press conference about how the team needs to play good defense all the time. I hope he can get them to do this. I don’t know if the lack of intensity is due to this being a young team or something else, but we need to play intense defense all year long, in order to be competitive.

    We have some good players. Costner seems to be a step slow. Engin is probably only going to be used sparingly, to avoid a potential season ending injury, especially in non-conference games. Engin also seems to be shaking off some rust.

    Grant looks good so far. Same with McCauley. Now we’ll need someone else to step up and be a regular contributor on offense, either Fells, Costner, Nieman, Horner or Ferguson, when he’s eligible.

    One thing that’s impressed me is whenever low calls a timeout, the team seems to really respond and improve how they’re playing. I don’t know if it’s because we’re playing less talented teams or Lowe is connecting with the players, but I hope we can expect good things to come after timeouts this year.

  23. redfred2 11/09/2006 at 11:21 AM #

    Uh guys, I hate to be a stick in the mud, but we haven’t played enough BB yet to know how ‘we play’ anything for sure. It’s still a little early to make any sweeping evalutions, don’t ya think?

    Another thing, whatever the latest fad is in offensive sets, the “flex,” the afore dreaded “modified P,” or whatever, I know some of you are just dying to label Sidney Lowe’s philosophy as this or that. I don’t think that will ever happen.

    I pray that beyond being labeled as a great coach, whatever Sidney Lowe does, that he doesn’t fall prey to the single minded, one scheme and nothing else, mindset that seems to be the overall latest fad of all coaches in Raleigh. Neatly labelled, pre-packaged philosophies, don’t work and aren’t welcomed anymore in my book.

  24. vtpackfan 11/09/2006 at 9:02 PM #

    The “flex” just is that Red, it’s the anti-system offense. No one runs a “picket fence” to perfection and there is no flex per see. It’s just flexible. It allows players who have hot streaks the ability to stay in rythm if you have the ball handlers to deliver accurate passes. How many times do Reddick run off screen after screen until the crisp pass was delivered to where he could square up. Everyone in the gymnasium knew where the ball was going.
    What will hopefully seperate Sid from the latter coach is that an obvious change to up tempo basketball is going to be fun. He wants to augment any half court scheme with fast break numbers in an effort to bring scoring and foul trouble to the opposition. The second thing that may change is the “game changers” perspectively and currently headed to play for the Wolfpack. The quality of basketball played in the ACC and NCAA tourney requires a certain number of intimadating above the rim type players. So I agree with you that its too early to affiliate Sid with any practicular style since he is obviously not ready to rest on any merits to this point.
    I’m glad early signing is upon us. Has Thomas signed a LOI yet? Chris Warren and Wilson Pickett whatever. If Degand can play then he’s worth saving a scholly on a pure shooter for ’08 to go along with another low block player. What is Tracy Smith doing know that he scored well on his test? Is he our all out target right now?

  25. bTHEredterror 11/10/2006 at 2:48 AM #

    ^Agree. It is a good sign Sid would apply a time tested scheme. Versatility is built in, and it is up to the coach to emphasize the strengths of his players in the myriad sets the Flex allows. I’m not banking on a winning season this year, but I won’t be shocked if we get there either. NIT is probably a dream season this year.

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